Jotun Review: Impressive to Mortals and Gods Alike
Jotun is a hand-drawn action and exploration game developed by Thunder Lotus Games; it’s also one that IGM
has been following closely since the
Kickstarter campaign in 2014. The premise is a simple one: Thora, a Viking who died ingloriously, is sent to Norse purgatory to prove herself to the gods in order to enter Valhalla. The journey itself is fairly short, but the challenge factor is high, giving
Jotun a leg up where it might otherwise feel a bit light on content; with the visuals factored in,
Jotun is quite an impressive game.
The story begins with Thora being told that she must defeat a series of jotun (Norse gods) in order to prove herself worthy to enter Valhalla. The player is then dropped in front of Yggdrasil, a giant tree that, in Norse mythology, connects the nine worlds to each other. A network of roots, poisonous mushrooms, and blue healing flowers await the player as they run through to activate three Dis (guardian spirits) in order to gain access to The Void within Yggdrasil, where the journey truly begins. The first enemy faced is Draugr, a guardian of The Barrow Mound; players should enjoy the lower-level challenge he presents while they can, because it only gets more difficult from there on out.
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Overall,
Jotun is a well-designed game with very few flaws. Thora’s base speed, only increased by a short ability, was an issue, as exploration seemed to drag a bit in certain areas; boss battles were made just that much more difficult because timing is so imperative, and Thora can only go so quickly. Her powerful attack has the same effect, being so slow as to demand precision with use, else the opportunity to strike would pass. Aside from that (and perhaps because of it),
Jotun‘s challenge level offers the kind of difficulty not often seen in games, today, as bosses are typically seen as a stepping stone to the end. In
Jotun, the boss battles
are the point, and that point is made quite soundly.
Pros
Hand-drawn/painted art is gorgeous
Soundtrack is divine
Boss battles steal the show
Cons
Thora’s speed feels cumbersome
